canon au } of white lies and emergency replacement hamsters

[fadingspark]

“So dad, what do you think would be a better pet? Church griffon or talking mice?”

Sheriff Stilinski just looked at his son like he had two heads – which to be honest was usually how the sheriff regarded Stiles on most days. He waited a moment, then just turned to look at Cora. “He’s serious, isn’t he?”

Swallowing her pizza, Cora nodded. “Yes. He’s determined to have a pet while at college, and while Dawn thinks the church griffon is a better choice, he’s a bit taken by the Aeslin mice one of the professors have.”

“And what is a church griffon?”

“Think of it like a cat with wings.”

“… right.” The Sheriff had to keep reminding himself why he gave up drinking, even if there were days Stiles really tested him.

“I’ve never had a pet before.”

“You had a snake,” Sheriff reminded him.

“But that’s a snake. It sat in a glass cage. I really want something I can play with,” Stiles pointed out as he took another slice of pizza.

“Stiles, there’s a very good reason why we never had another pet.” Sheriff gave Cora a smirk, a tell-tale sign that this was a good story.

Stiles looked confused. “I thought it was because of your job and that you’re allergic to dogs?”

“He’s not allergic to dogs,” Cora stated.

“What? But you said…”

Sheriff looked at Cora a moment. “I’m not sure I want to know how you figured that out.”

“You wouldn’t be able to be around me and Derek. We may look human, but we have canine DNA too. Our body oil and dandruff have similar qualities…”

Sheriff held up his hand, “I think I get the picture.”

Cora dropped back to being quiet and then looked at Stiles who was staring at her in fascination. “What?”

“Nothing… I just didn’t think about it like that.” He looked at his father. “So you lied to me?”

“Seriously, you’re going to be upset at me for one white lie, Stiles? After everything you’ve done since you were able to speak…”

“That’s so not the point. I really wanted a puppy.”

“You had Scott. Trust me, you didn’t need a puppy back then.”

“Scott wasn’t a werewolf then.”

“No, but I fed him and you took him on walks in the woods at night. He counts.”

Cora was trying not to choke on her pizza. “He’s got a point.”

“Anyway, as I was saying, there is a very good reason why you never got a puppy. You remember Moxie?”

Stiles sat back in his chair a moment. “Wasn’t that my third grade hamster?”

“That would be him.”

“That hamster loved me.”

“You let the hamster get eaten by the neighbor’s cat.”

Stiles sat up in indignation. “I did not!”

Sheriff smiled and looked over at Cora. “So imagine this one over here and he’s nine. It’s been just him and me for about a year at that point, and all he ever talks about is wanting a pet. So, thinking that maybe it was a good idea at the time, I talk to his teacher about letting Stiles take home the school pet for one of the holiday vacations to see if he would be able to care for it.”

“And you killed the hamster?” Cora looked at Stiles, narrowing her eyes a bit.

“I did not. I totally took that hamster back to school the next week.”

“No, you took back the emergency replacement hamster that Melissa picked up for me at the pet store.”

Stiles looked at his father in shock. “You… and her…”

Sheriff grinned and looked back at Cora again. “So things are going well for the first two days. The kid’s totally in love with the hamster and making sure he feeds and waters the little thing, and plays with him and it’s good. Until about four days into the experiment when I come home and the cage is outside with no hamster in sight.

“So I find Stiles and he’s up in his room playing a video game and I ask him where Moxie is. ‘I set him free’ he tells me. I ask him why he would do that.” Sheriff looked over at Stiles who was slouched in his chair again, his arms crossed. “Remember what you said, kid?”

“Yeah. There was a cartoon with a pet bird and the dad told the kid that if you love something, you set it free. And if it loves you too, it will come back.”

Cora smiled a bit at him. “You really loved that hamster, huh?”

“And I thought it loved me too because it came back.”

“Sorry, kid.” To Cora. “I wasn’t going to tell my nine year old he had just sent his school hamster to die in the wild, so instead Melissa and I staged a miraculous return of the hamster the night before I needed to take it back to school.”

Cora was really having a hard time holding back her laughter between the story and the look on Stiles’ face. “So what happened after that?”

“Well, soon the conversation turned to puppy, and Melissa ‘diagnosed’ me with allergies. After that, I gave in and let him have a snake for a while thinking maybe that he would not like the idea of feeding it mice but he did it with a scary kind of sadistic glee. Anyway, a few months later it was too big for the fish tank and I didn’t really have the money for a full atrium that it would need to accommodate it, so we donated the snake to the zoo.”

“He was the fattest boa they ever had too. And they would let me come in before hours to see him sometimes,” Stiles said, pouting.

“You know, the mice probably aren’t going to like to know about your old snake,” Cora pointed out.

Stiles thought for a moment, then sighed. “Fine, church griffon?”

“You’re not going to set it free, are you?”

Sheriff laughed at the sight of Stiles’ jaw dropping and Cora’s amusement. “I’m not a kid anymore,” he pointed out.

“Just making sure because I’m not going to be the one taking care of it.” Cora wiped her mouth. “I’m done.”

“Yeah, me too.” Stiles pushed his plate away.

“You kids go on upstairs then. I’ll take care of this, and then I’m back on duty, but I’ll see you in the morning before you head back up to Berkeley?”

“Of course. I’m not leaving without saying goodbye.” Stiles took Cora’s hand and led her upstairs. But just before they entered his room, he stopped and leaned her up against the hallway wall. “You know, I think I don’t need a puppy anymore.”

“You better stop before you insinuate that I’m your puppy, Stiles.”

His smirk grew a bit. “Okay, maybe I was thinking it in a small way, but it was more along the lines of the fact that after the alpha pack, I did let you go. And you came back, and that was how I knew you loved me.”

Cora’s eyes rolled. “You’re comparing me to a hamster now. You’re really killing your chances right now.”

Stiles leaned in and kissed her, and she smiled against his lips. “If you don’t want a pet, Cora, just say so. I already have what I really want.”

She smirked. “Let me think about it, alright?”

“Alright.” He kissed her again. “So, about my chances…?”

Cora heard the kitchen door close and lock, and her fingers went to curl up in his shirt. “You going to stop with the analogies about your failed attempts at pet ownership and your girlfriend?”

“Totally.”

“Good. Then your chances are looking good.” Her free hand went to open his bedroom door, and with a smirk she pulled him inside and shut the door behind them.